Opinion columnist Russell Shaw weighs in Judge Kavanaugh's prospects for nomination at the 6:35 mark of this episode of the Catholic Herald podcast, which was recorded earlier this summer. Subscribeon iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play Music.

WASHINGTON — The four days of Senate confirmation hearings for
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were as heated as the unusually
high temperatures in Washington during this first week of September.

A lot of the passion against the federal judge centered on
concern that if Kavanaugh gets a seat on the Supreme Court, he could vote to
overturn the court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision
that legalized abortion.

Richard Garnett, professor of law and political science at the
University of Notre Dame, said he has watched confirmation hearings for at
least 32 years — which he admits makes him somewhat of a geek — but he
described this particular hearing as "the worst I've ever seen" not
only for the interruptions and protests but "grandstanding and
misrepresenting" a judge with a long paper trial of decisions – over 440,000
public pages of records.

Garnett said he was impressed with how "very calm and
patient" Kavanaugh was during the long hours of often-interrupted
questioning.

He said it's important to remember that Kavanaugh, 53, is a young
man, and if he gets the Senate votes to become the 114th justice, he will
"be there for a long time and will write clear opinions." He also
pointed out that half of the Supreme Court cases are not the 5-4 decisions, or
cases about hot button issues.

Similarly, Michael Moreland, professor of law and religion at
Villanova University in Pennsylvania, said he thinks there is a "a
tendency to overstate how much change" Kavanaugh will make to the court.

Moreland described Kavanaugh as a well -regarded judge and smart
lawyer who performed well under the pressure of the senate hearings, which he
describes as good civic lessons.

Both Moreland and Garnett stressed Kavanaugh's record as pointing
to a desire to limit Congress' ability to support administrative agencies like
the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the
Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission to function
independently of the executive branch.

On abortion, Moreland said the Roe decision wouldn't change
quickly and that laws were already changing for this to become more of a state
legislative issue. Garnett said he felt confident Kavanaugh would take
seriously religious freedom rights and would respect the right of states to
pass abortion legislation.

In the hearings themselves, Kavanaugh affirmed that Roe v. Wade and Planned
Parenthood v. Casey are "an important precedent of the Supreme
Court." He also said Sept 5 that being able to "participate in the
public square with religious speech" is a part of American tradition.

In response to a question about abortion from Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-California, Kavanaugh said the Roe decision
"is settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court" and has been
"reaffirmed many times over the past 45 years, as you know, and most prominently,
most importantly, reaffirmed in Planned Parenthood v.
Casey in 1992."

When pressed by the senator about his view on a woman's right to
choose, he said: "As a judge, it is an important precedent of the Supreme
Court. By it, I mean Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. (It's) been
reaffirmed many times. Casey is precedent on precedent, which itself is an
important factor to remember. And I understand the significance of the issue,
the jurisprudential issue, and I understand the significance as best I can; I
always try, and I do hear, of the real-world effects of that decision, as I
tried to do all of the decisions of my court, and of the Supreme Court."

That same day, when he was asked about religious liberty by Sen.
Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Kavanaugh said: "In other countries around the world
you're not free to take your religion into the public square" and can only
practice in your own home. "Being able to participate in the public square
is a part of the American tradition. I think as a religious person, religious
speech, religious ideas, religious thoughts, that's important," he said.

After numerous protestors were escorted out of the committee
hearing room, Kavanaugh was greeted by guests who needed no escort out: members
of the CYO basketball team he coaches.

The judge, who is Catholic, also spoke about putting his faith in
action, during the Senate questioning period.

He said he regularly serves meals with Catholic Charities' St.
Maria's Meals program in Washington and that talking to the people there helps
him to understand the situation that they are in.

"We are all God's children. We are all equal," he said.
"People have gotten there because maybe they have a mental illness; maybe
they had a terrible family situation; maybe they lost a job and had no family.
But every person you serve a meal to is just as good as me or better."

The committee could vote on Kavanaugh's nomination Sept. 13, but
it could also be delayed, making the final committee vote take place Sept. 20
followed by a full Senate vote the next week.